I wasn’t part of the adventures. The biggest heroes didn’t look like me. There was no chance that I would ever grow up to be like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark.

There was no chance that a kid like me could save the day.

When playing video games that offered you the chance to create your own character, I struggled to find options for hair or facial features that looked like mine, so I’d just put a mask on my creation and press start.

During Halloween, I defaulted to being a ninja for what felt like a decade. In addition to ninjas being the coolest, other masks didn’t play well with my glasses, and I was reminded time and time again that I was only a spectator to the adventures of other heroes.

I remember being in elementary school and talking about wanting to be Batman for Halloween after the awesome 1989 film dropped. I was shot down by a classmate who told me my skin wasn’t right.

So the routine remained the same. Obscure your face, hide who you are and go on your adventure.

That’s why I feel like I’ve waited my entire life for a moment like “Black Panther.” With its release, 7-year-old me, now 32, is having his coming out party.

It’s why nationwide, organizations such as NUVO and the Indianapolis MLK Center have been working to make sure that young kids can see the movie and learn that heroes come in all shades.

It's also why I grew emotional Thursday night during the first screening of the film at my local theater when I saw children, black and white, dressed head-to-toe in the Black Panther’s battle armor, cheering and asking their parents to see it again when the credits rolled.

It has become more than a film. With its black director and black cast, it is an experience that manages to champion black culture while also being extremely inclusive.

With his portrayal of high-tech African king T’Challa, Chadwick Boseman does what Christopher Reeve did when he first opened his shirt to reveal the red and yellow Kryptonian shield in 1978. What kid doesn’t want to be like that?

There have been plenty of black superheroes before this weekend, some of them appearing on the big screen as titular heroes. No one needs to remind me about “Blade” or “Spawn.” I loved them both, and somehow convinced my parents to let me see the blood-soaked romps way before I should have.

Maybe they caved at my desire to see someone like me kicking ass.

But along with being very R-rated and not the kind of the films that celebrated the culture, they were centered around black men who had something very wrong with them.

Blade was a half-vampire son of a prostitute who constantly had to fight his urge to kill humans and drink their blood. Spawn was a dead man, a literal hellspawn, with a necroplasm reserve that would deplete any time he used his powers. Basically, whenever Spawn did something heroic, he was bringing himself closer to death and his eternal resting place in hell.

The caveat seemed to be black men can be heroes, but only if they can overcome these massive and potentially deadly obstacles placed in front of them. Sound familiar?

T’Challa, however, is royalty whose biggest weakness is being a proud, decent man who loves his family, his culture and his nation. He is surrounded by powerful, exceptional black men and women who use their minds, bodies and upbringing to protect what they love.

So not only is representation important, but representation that uplifts is critical. Especially now.

Even the film's antagonist Erik Killmonger, played beautifully by Michael B. Jordan, is man of deep values and clear motivations who drops some gutting truths about fighting for parity as a black man who comes from nothing. It will make many movie-goers uncomfortable, but the result is the best Marvel movie villain since Loki.

Is it strange that I just want to wear my Black Panther Halloween costume all weekend? Asking for a friend... pic.twitter.com/yukZdzKZtt

My hope is that this film, much like "Wonder Woman" did last year, broadens the commercial definition of superhero.

And even if you don't care about any of this stuff I'm talking about and just want to see a big, loud, cool movie this weekend, "Black Panther" has you covered. It shot into my MCU top five immediately, although we all know "Winter Soldier" is still the best.

Some quick, non-spolier takeaways for those who still haven't seen it:

I know superhero flicks don't often get nods for Academy Awards, but it would be a shame if the cinematography in "Black Panther" wasn't recognized. It's a gorgeous film, and the use of color Marvel nailed in "Thor: Ragnarok" returns in a big way here.

With Black Panther, Marvel is the perfect successor to Iron Man if Robert Downey Jr. ever wants to hang up the metal suit for good. Much like Tony Stark, T'Challa has all the tech toys and cash to fill that "I don't know what we're going to do, oh wait Tony has an invention that will fix it" role.

Boseman and Jordan are magic, but Letitia Wright almost steals the show as T'Challa's little sister and tech genius Shuri. She's a joy to watch.

Don't leave after the first post-credits scene. Stay all the way to end, but I'm sure you already know that.

This movie has the best Stan Lee cameo yet. Excelsior!

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138 or email him at justin.mack@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.